28

CONNOR

“Just send her flowers. Every woman likes flowers. Speaking of which, you still owe me an apology for going dark those weeks you were sunning yourself. Maybe you should send me some flowers?”

I looked over at my agent with a frown, thinking the last thing I wanted to do was send Crystal flowers. “Crystal deserves my size twelve boot up her ass for the stunts she’s pulled, not flowers!”

Jay raised an eyebrow, a chuckle escaping his lips. He had been my agent since college, walking me through the finer points of professional football and not allowing me to fall through the cracks of the sport like so many other athletes did. I’d also come to rely on his qualities as a friend and he’d managed to keep me out of trouble to an extent, until now. “I’m not talking about Crystal. I’m talking about that other girl you’re so wrapped up in right now. What’s her name? Autumn?”

“Dude, really?” I asked, leaning back in the chair. We had been lounging by the pool, catching some afternoon rays while he’d gone over my latest endorsement with me, some razor company that wanted me to be their spokesman. I had sold a ton of stuff in my career, from athlete’s foot cream to men’s watches. Being a face to a product not only got you extra cash flow coming in, but the perks were sometimes pretty awesome as well. Though maybe not the athlete’s foot cream I did in my early career. That one I could have shot Jay for. “Autumn? Are you just going to start reeling off the names of the month or go through every season till you get it right?”

“Hell, I don’t know, I’ve never been able to remember the names of your conquests,” Jay grumbled. “I guess that’s not her name, then?”

“No, it’s not,” I replied with a grin. “It’s April.” The sound of her name upon my lips caused my damn heart to race. It had been three weeks and five days since I’d seen her last. Well, maybe not that long. I had seen her, just not live and in person. Her face was on the news enough, down to her walking into her apartment while shielding herself from the intruding cameras. Every time I saw the footage, I got pissed and added another hole or dent into whatever wall I was standing next to. My new house was starting to look like a war zone.

Jay snorted. “You even said her name with that dreamy look on your face,” he said with a grin. “She’s really got you whipped, doesn’t she? Wrapped around her little finger.”

I frowned, not liking the idea that I was so transparent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jay chuckled and sat up, grabbing a beer out of the cooler. Of course he was drinking, while I was stuck with a bottle of water. There was something wrong with this picture. “You don’t have to lie to me. I had that same, goofy look when I met Polly. Best damn thing I ever did was put a ring on that finger.” I thought about the tall brunette that Jay was lucky enough to be married to. She was a very understanding wife given the craziness that came with being an agent’s wife to a number of high profile clients. But I supposed it helped that she was after all his secretary too. They complimented each other fairly well and I’d been his best man at his wedding a few years ago.

“Shit, man,” I finally said, running a hand through my hair. “I fucking screwed this whole thing up. I should never have accepted that bet.” I could be honest with him. I had screwed it all up. Because of me April was getting pestered constantly about her life. While I was used to people being all up in my grill constantly, I knew she wasn’t.

“Well, that’s a given,” Jay replied. “What were you thinking?”

I shook my head, grabbing the bottle of water and taking a swig of it. I wasn’t thinking. That had been the problem. Once the gauntlet had been laid down that was it. Then I had seen her, truly seen her, and I’d wanted her; had to have her. The problem was I couldn’t shake myself of her now. I still craved the woman.

“So you went in there with your cock instead of your head,” Jay said with a shrug. “We all do that from time to time. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know,” I said, a thousand thoughts running through my mind. Flowers weren’t going to cut it this time. No doubt she would throw them in the trash for the mess I had caused in her life because I was a selfish bastard. “What would you do?”

“If I was in your shoes?” Jay laughed, holding up a beer. “I would go buy the biggest-ass diamond I could find and then grovel like your life depended on it. If you feel like I think you do, I wouldn’t let this girl get away, Connor.”

APRIL

I peered through the peephole of my door, surprised to see a man standing there, no cameras or microphones in sight. The owner of the apartment building had drawn a line in the sand with the media, threatening to call the cops if they stepped foot anywhere near his tenants or his building. So far it had worked but leaving my apartment had been a totally different experience. I had resorted to sneaking out of the back bedroom window, dressed in the craziest disguise I could find just so I could have a few moments peace. I had been successful three days in a row and I was starting to believe that maybe I could try for a fourth. Besides, the media frenzy had started to lessen, each day one less reporter showed up. It was starting to die down and I couldn’t be happier. Well, I could, but that was a whole other kettle of fish.

Biting my lip, I looked through the hole again, wondering if I could trust this guy, whoever he was. Stepping back, I grabbed the bat I was keeping beside the door and threw the locks, opening the door a hair. “Who are you?”

He grinned, his face reddened by the sun. He was cute in his ageing years, I thought, but I’d learnt not to trust good-looking guys who smiled at me like that. “Ms. Matthews?”

“Depends on who’s asking,” I replied slowly as his grin widened.

“No wonder he’s so infatuated with you.”

My eyes widened and I opened the door a little more, tapping the bat nervously on the floor. “What are you talking about?”

He cleared his throat and held out his hand. “I’m Jay Yardly. Can I come in for a minute? I won’t take up too much of your time, I promise.”

I eyed his hand, warning lights going off in my head. “Mr. Yardly, forgive me if I don’t let you in. I’m having a bit of a problem with the media and I’m afraid that you are probably one of them.”

“Oh, I’m definitely not a scumbag reporter,” he replied, dropping his hand and moving into his jacket, producing a card. “Here’s my business card. If you need a reference, I can get one of my clients on the phone, or my wife. She’s my secretary. She will vouch for me.”

I took the card and read the fine print, keeping the bat where he could see it. Jay Yardly, Sports Agent, it read. There was an email address and a few phone numbers but I hardly paid attention to them. Sports agent. That could only mean one thing. “That bastard, he sent you, didn’t he?”

Jay chuckled as I pocketed the card, shaking his head. “No, ma’am, he didn’t. If he knew I was here right now, he would cut off my balls, pardon my French.”

I opened the door wider and moved out of the way, intrigued to know what he wanted. He entered and I shut the door behind him, turning to face him. “You have two minutes, and if I find out you recorded this conversation in any way, I will cut your balls off.”

“Fair enough, wife won’t be pleased though,” he said with a sly grin, reaching into his pocket again and producing an envelope. “I’m here because he’s my friend and he needs some nudging. Honestly, this is all starting to affect his performance and I have to protect my investment.”

I raised my eyebrow at this, looking at the envelope. “Some friend you are.”

He chuckled again, palming the envelope. “Trust me, there’s more to this than just an investment.” He then extended the envelope toward me. “Take it.”

Swallowing, wondering what sort of Pandora’s box I was about to open this time, I took the envelope and ripped at the sealed flap, expecting to see some sort of payoff, money to silence me, which I would throw back in his face. I couldn’t be bought. Instead I was surprised to find a lanyard, with a plastic ticket attached to it.

“That is the hottest ticket in town right now,” he replied as I held it up. “Preseason field pass and locker room pass for this Saturday’s game. Pretty much all access.” Jay looked away for a second, but he turned back, his face earnest and kind. “I can’t make him come to you since he’s being all macho and stubborn, trying to protect you, so I was hoping you would go to him.”

“What makes you think I want to?” I challenged as he turned back toward me. “He’s made my life into a circus. I can’t even go to the grocery store without someone trying to take my picture.”

He gave me a sad smile, rubbing his hands together. “Ms. Matthews, that’s the world he lives in day to day. If you are going to be with him, you will have to get used to your privacy being constantly invaded.”

“And who says I want to be part of his world after what he did? Don’t you know what he did? He lied to me, made a bet to get me to that goddamn island, and then proceeded to play with my heart!”

“I know everything, Ms. Matthews. He hates himself for accepting that stupid bet and not being truthful with you, but it doesn’t change the fact that he loves you.”

“What? He loves me? How on earth could you possibly know that?”

Jay shrugged. “Takes one to know one, he’s got the same look as I did when I realized I was in love. And he won’t be anything without you. Anyway, I won’t waste any more of your time,” Jay said as he walked to the door. “If you decide to come Saturday night, just give me a call or text so I can make sure someone is there to meet you and take you where you need to go. It was nice meeting you.”

He let himself out, the door shutting behind him and leaving me in the apartment with my mouth hanging open. Connor loved me? No, there was no way he could love me. He wasn’t the type to settle down nor was he the type to have any kind of commitment in his life other than football. Love was an abstract concept to him and so farfetched for him, right?

I sighed and looked down at the ticket in my hand, displaying a picture of the team’s logo and words that gave me all access. Did I dare hope that Jay was telling the truth? And could I be prepared to face the consequences if his agent was wrong and I ended up back where I started yet again, this time with my heart not just merely broken, but shattered beyond all repair?